《Great Journey》


 Episode 1

    Yuliko stood with the other potential journeyers from her tribe. She could feel the warmth of the Great Maw¡¯Goro beneath her bare feet. They all stood in a line upon the obsidian mound, made from the hardened blood of Maw¡¯Goro, who towered over the landscape, a plume of thick black smoke billowing out its peak. All the land within view of the volcano belonged to the great spirit, and therefore was the domain of the Black Glass People, but the lava yard in particular was sacred.


    The potential journeyers were all the eligible youth of the Ibex Clan, one of the five clans that make up the Black Glass Tribe. Their clan revered the ibexes, the fierce mountain goats with oversized hook-like horns. Only Maw¡¯Goro, creator of the land itself, deserved the clan¡¯s respect more than their namesake.


    Upon being nominated to participate in the Great Journey, their next step will be to venture deep into the lava yard, close to the heart of Maw¡¯Goro, and select an obsidian core which will be fashioned into their ritual blade. In order to participate in the Great Journey the individual must be nominated by two clan members. Usually a youth would be nominated by the master they had apprenticed under, and one other clan member who best knew if the youth was ready to be elevated to an adult member of the tribe. However, Yuliko had no master, and most of the clan avoided her.


    Yuliko was a slender girl with sandy brown hair and blue-green eyes. She wore a chest wrap and skirt made of softened goat skin. She and the others carried their bags and weapons for they would be departing once the nominations were completed. Her feet were bare so she would be physically touching Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s earth. Yuliko¡¯s palm sweated holding her obsidian-tipped spear, which was unusual for her; her palms never sweated during a hunt.


    Each of the other potential journeyers had been training for their future roles in the tribe for over two years. Krissa had much experience as the shaman¡¯s apprentice. And Minty as the healer¡¯s apprentice. Kardan had been well trained by Lion, the best obsidian knapper in the whole tribe. And Zana and Pyker were both highly skilled hunters. There was no question that any of them would be nominated.


    Then there was Faydayo, the chieftain¡¯s apprentice, who had only been so for less than a year. Formerly he had been training to be the lead hunter, but after Yuliko had been stripped of her status as chieftain''s apprentice and heir, then Faydayo was raised to the position. He had not been humble about his advancement, even now he stood with a puffed up chest and a casual smirk on his face.


    Now Yuliko¡¯s future position in the clan was as uncertain as her chance of being nominated. She stared down from the mound, looking at the crowd of tribe members. Only the full-fledged adult members of the clan were permitted to witness the nomination ritual. The ineligible youth and the thralls were all back at the Ibex camp, preparing for the feast for the following evening.


    Behind the observers lay the treeline of the volcanic rainforest the Black Glass People dwelt within. It had been at a border area between the lava yard and the forest where Yuliko had her incident with the green man. Where the earth had shook, and where she had almost died. In her vision she glimpsed for an instant the antlered man was watching from behind the trees. But she blinked and the green man had disappeared.


    She turned her focus upon the faces of those with the power to nominate her. Her father and former mentor, Chief Domylo, stood at the front of the crowd, gazing impassively at the lined up youth. He was a tall man, wore his hair in a topknot with gray streaks over the temples, and he wore his snakeskin vest. His chest was exposed, prominently displaying the vertical white scar over his heart, the mark from his ritual blade when he was a youth taking the Pledge Rite. All the full-fledged clan members had the same scar.


    Domylo carried the simple painted ibex horn totem, the temporary replacement for the ancient totem Yuliko had lost. He refused to make eye contact with her or acknowledge her at all. There was no hope he would speak for her.


    There was also her mother standing beside him. She was wearing one of the brightly feathered headbands that she loved. Yuliko could hardly remember a time when her mother wasn¡¯t ornamented in the feathers of parrots or macaws. In stark contrast to Chieftain Domylo, his wife Kuli smiled as much as she was colorful. Yet when her eyes met Yuliko¡¯s there was a shade of gloom behind her pleasant expression. It was the same look her mother would give her after the incident, when she would tell Yuliko that everything would be alright.


    Of course, nothing had been alright after the incident. She had been entrusted with the clan¡¯s totem; an elegantly carved ibex horn, bedecked with rings of obsidian and red jasper, and the clan¡¯s most precious possession. And she had lost it.


    The Black Glass People are nomads who migrate around the rainforest surrounding the volcano. They must receive the blessing of the Great Maw¡¯Goro before they may move to their next camping ground. A year ago, Yuliko was returning from taking the totem to where Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s hot blood flows¡ªthe only worthy place to request a resettlement blessing¡ªand at the treeline between the forest and the lava yard, a tremor shook the ground, knocking Yuliko to her knees, protecting the horn with her body. And when the tremors stopped Yuliko looked up to see an antlered man-beast emerging out of the trees. He charged at her, and pierced her just beneath the ribs.


    She remembered laying on the rocks, bleeding out, but she still held onto the clan totem. The beast-man stood over her. It had dappled skin like a doe, a muzzle like a buck, and hooved feet. It wore a tunic, so she could not see if it had a tail like a deer or not. The green man plucked the ibex horn from her hands. It stared at her with sad looking black eyes. Then it touched a hand over her wound and spoke some words in a language Yuliko did not understand. Then the man-beast left her for dead.


    She was found hours later barely holding onto life. The clan healer, Makala, was able to patch up the wicked antler wound, but Yuliko had caught a fever that overtook her for many days. Everyone was overjoyed when her fever broke and Makala determined, by some miracle, she would live. But after she told her tale of how the totem was stolen, they had all turned against her. They called her a fool for confusing a common buck for a green man. Or, it could have been an intruder in an antler helm. Her fever must have cooked her mind. All the green men had gone extinct ages ago. Also, there were those that called her a liar, Krissa in particular. They accused her of making up a story to cover up losing the totem. Some even accused her of hurting herself.


    And if they didn¡¯t call her a liar or a fool, then they called her cursed. The most superstitious of the clan were afraid Yuliko would attract the green man back again. Uzban, the master potter, insists it was a curse that would bring double misfortune since she was the chieftain¡¯s daughter. And there were those like Davanu, the master tanner, who whispered that Yuliko¡¯s curse meant Domylo should not be the chieftain anymore with the trouble his daughter has wrought.


    According to the legends, the green men were dapple-skinned antlered people that once walked among the other thinking species. The green men were said to have lived in parts of the woods that man kin could never find without guidance, passageways to the Other World, where magic was strong. But the green men would sometimes leave their hidden homes to trade for man kin goods, and were said to even occasionally share their magic. There are some stories where the green men trade magic gifts in exchange for man kin children. In other stories the green men steal children by tricking parents into leaving their children in the woods. But all that was the ancient past. The only thinking species anyone from the Black Glass Tribe had ever encountered were other man kin and their closely related cousins; the stout-bodied flatheads, and the tiny squirrel people.


    The loss of the totem, and Yuliko¡¯s preposterous story, brought great shame to the clan. The Ibexes had once been of the highest status amongst the five clans, with her father, Domylo, serving as the High Chieftain of the Glass Tribe; but there were few greater marks of defeat than for a clan to lose their totem, so the Ibexes became the lowest status, and Domylo lost his High Chieftain position to the chieftain of the Razor Boar Clan.


    And of course, no clan members would follow the girl who lost their sacred totem and lost their clan''s status, so Domylo was forced to denounce Yuliko as his apprentice and heir.


    Yuliko scanned the rest of the tribespeople attending the nominations. She saw Makala amongst them. Yuliko had spent much time with the healer after her injury. Makala was fond of explaining her work as she busied about, and Yuliko had learned much just from listening while lying in the healer¡¯s hut. And she did not show any animosity towards Yuliko after the incident, which she was eternally thankful for. Yuliko had desperately wished for Makala to take her on as an apprentice alongside her current pupil, Minty. But even though Makala didn¡¯t blame her for what happened, she considered Yuliko marked by a bad spirit and refused to take her on as a formal student.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    There was only one other face in the crowd that Yuliko had any hope of nominating her. She spotted the bushy brown beard of Lion, the obsidian master. Yuliko had been bedridden for months after the incident, but when she had finally healed enough to move about, the ostracization made her wish to hide back in the tent. They all hated her. They mocked her. No other masters wished to teach her. All except Lion, who was unconcerned with the past.


    She remembered when he first showed her the proper way to knap the outer edges of an obsidian core, at a time when she felt most lonely and hopeless. The rough exterior must be flaked off to shape the perfect tool, he had told her. But we could not create the right shape if we did not have the rough sides to work with. The past must be flaked off too, and the right shape will emerge.


    She had precious few months between her healing and the Great Journey, where she followed Lion¡¯s instructions and learned to knap obsidian into finely fashioned tools. She was nowhere near as good as Kardan, who had studied under Lion much longer, but Yuliko thought she had been doing well.


    If Yuliko was not nominated she would have to wait until the next Great Journey to ascend to adulthood, and that could be years from now. Or worse, she may never get to make her Great Journey, and she would become a thrall, one of the lowest status members of the clan with no rights.


    The Great Journey was not merely an adulthood ritual, but it was the very foundation of Black Glass Tribe society. All the lands under the shadow of Maw¡¯Goro were gifted to the Glass People by the great spirit. In exchange, the tribe was duty-bound to protect Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s realm, and to deliver worthy tributes to the volcano spirit. During the Great Journey, the journeyers are to travel beyond the shadow of Maw¡¯Goro into the far lands, where they are to seek out and acquire the tributes. The most valued tribute a journey party could offer was the totem of a foreign clan, but other treasures were also worthy, like the gold and silver rings people in the far lands sometimes wear, and finely made pottery, carvings, and weavings from the far lands too.


    Journey parties may also bring back thralls as tribute to the volcano. The current high chieftain, Vogon of the Razor Boar Clan, his party had brought back the largest offering of thralls in known memory. The captives had been snake spirit worshippers to the south. They had been a most worthy tribute to the fiery heart of the volcano.


    Keeping the continued favor of Maw¡¯Goro was the main purpose of the Great Journey, but it served other purposes as well. The rainforest around the volcano was vast, and the Black Glass People were few¡ªmaintaining a balanced population was an important part of protecting Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s realm¡ªso the clans rarely had need to traverse beyond their own territory. The journeyers brought back important news about the ongoings of the far lands. The party leader was even permitted to act as the tribe¡¯s emissary and build friendships with other groups. And most critically, the journeyers could alert the chieftains to any potential threats.


    Yuliko needed to go on this Great Journey. It could be her only chance to redeem herself. If she were to help bring back a high value tribute, then she may shed some of the shame she had brought upon the clan.


    Eshika, the clan shaman, stood between the crowd of tribe members and the youth on the mound. She wore a red-dyed ibex fur wrap, with a puffy wool collar, a shade darker scarlet. The outfit contrasted startlingly with her bright blue eyes. She waved a smoking bundle of herb brush in the direction of Maw¡¯Goro, reciting the vows of service required to harvest the volcano¡¯s bounties. The billowing smoke told Eshika that the spirit has accepted the vows and that the nomination process may begin.


    Eshika had questioned Yuliko about the incident many times as she lay in recovery. Though the shaman never volunteered what she thought the meaning of any of it had been. But she was always curious about how Yuliko¡¯s wound was healing, which Makala said was a wonder of the spirits.


    Faydayo, as the chieftain¡¯s apprentice, was the first to stand for nomination. He practically strutted as he marched down the mound in position beside the shaman. Across the center of his chest he had tattooed a large triangle made up of smaller concentric triangles. The triangle was the symbol for the great volcano spirit.


    ¡°This young man stands before the Glass People and says he is worthy of the Great Journey,¡± Eshika announced. ¡°Who here nominates this one to make his Great Journey and join the Ibex Clan as an adult?¡±


    Chieftain Domylo raised a fist to the air. He met Faydayo¡¯s eyes squarely. ¡°I say this young man is worthy.¡±


    The chieftain¡¯s nomination was quickly seconded by Nabu, the lead hunter, who had been Faydayo¡¯s master before his elevation to chieftain¡¯s heir.


    Eshika dipped her hand in a bowl of red ocher paste. With her red palm she printed the ocher over one side of Faydayo¡¯s face, fingers crossing over his eye. ¡°This young man shall be taking the pledge, and shall be the leader of his mo¡¯huran,¡± she said.


    A mo¡¯huran was the band of journeyers. The bonds formed amongst a mo¡¯huran were said to be unbreakable and life-lasting. Faydayo¡¯s first task as the mo¡¯huran leader would be leading the excursion for their ritual blade cores.


    With his place confirmed, Faydayo moved towards the empty canal the nominees would follow into the lava yard. He flashed his smirk at Yuliko as he walked.


    Next, Eshika called forth Krissa, her own apprentice, and gave her the nomination. And she was seconded by Waylu, the cook master. Then the shaman picked up a second bowl with a black charcoal paste. She dipped the black over her red hand, and marked Krissa with a black handprint across her belly, over her navel.


    Krissa took her position lined up behind Faydayo near the canal. Yuliko observed the two of them briefly touch their fingertips together, before taking the upright ceremonial stance. Though it was no secret that Faydayo claimed Krissa.


    The same nomination procedure continued with the other potential journeyers, saving Yuliko for last since she had the lowest status. The others all had their masters grant the first nomination, and had another more-than-willing adult to grant them their second. Even Minty, who was so shy and awkward she barely spoke to the adults besides Makala, got an instant secondary nomination from Tarbak the shepherd, for she routinely treated his foot pains. Eshika marked all the others with black handprints, in places across the body that only the shaman understood the significance of. Besides the face and belly, some were handprinted across their forearm, chest, or thigh.


    Yuliko stood alone atop the obsidian mound, until she was finally called to stand beside Eshika. Now, as the last remaining youth and standing directly before her father, the chieftain would still not meet her eyes.


    ¡°This young woman stands before the Glass People and says she is worthy of the Great Journey. Who here nominates this one to make her Great Journey and join the Ibex Clan as an adult?¡±


    And to Yuliko¡¯s great relief, Lion raised his fist. ¡°I say this young woman is worthy.¡± He smiled at her through his bushy beard, and she smiled back. He had only been teaching her a short time, and he had never even formally declared himself as her master. Lion staked his reputation on Yuliko, so his endorsement of her was not taken lightly.


    Yuliko was touched by Lion¡¯s approval of her; but silence followed his speaking for her, and the warmth she felt gradually turned into cold terror. No one spoke up to second her.


    She turned to Makala with desperation in her eyes. Just because she couldn¡¯t take Yuliko as an apprentice didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t nominate her, right? But Makala only looked downward.


    Yuliko turned to her mother. Surely, she knew that her daughter was ready for the Great Journey. She had to know it wasn¡¯t Yuliko¡¯s fault the totem was stolen. But Kuli had lost her bright smile, and the gloominess showed through. She offered her daughter a sad apology with her eyes. Yuliko realized her father had forbidden her mother from speaking for her.


    Finally, the chieftain decided to meet Yuliko¡¯s gaze. She did not try to hide the hurt in her eyes. The anger. The rejection. The betrayal. She wanted him to see it. She knew he always blamed her. Even if he believed a green man had stolen the totem, he still blamed her.


    He stared back at her with shame.


    The heavy silence weighed over the lava yard. Yuliko would remain as the lowest status, even as those younger than her readied for the next Journey. She may remain low status forever. She may be cast into the lot of a thrall. Her future suddenly looked very grim, and unlike the rough exterior of an obsidian core, she could not flake it off.


    Yuliko felt a sudden fury burn within her, a blood-boiling anger at the unfairness of it all. It wasn¡¯t her fault the green man came for her. She had fallen during the tremor. She had been attacked. She had held onto the totem with her dying strength, but that wasn¡¯t enough. And now she was being punished for it. Now she wouldn¡¯t even have the opportunity to redeem herself.


    Maybe it had been her fault. Yuliko vividly remembered the moment she saw the green man walk out from the trees. She had been so scared. She had been petrified. If she could have ran, even just a moment sooner, she might have saved the totem, and saved herself from all the misery that followed. Her fiery anger turned towards herself for her cowardice.


    The raging silence, the profound lack of a second nomination, was finally broken by Faydayo snickering with his friends in the lineup of nominees. However, Eshika flashed a glare that quieted them.


    Then the shaman looked out over the clan members who had rejected the girl, then she turned and stared Yuliko over with her striking blue eyes, which crawled down to the antler piercing scar beneath the slender girl¡¯s ribs. After a moment, the shaman raised her fist and declared, ¡°I say this young woman is worthy.¡±


    Then the shaman dipped her palm back into the red ocher, and marked Yuliko with a red hand over her scar.

 Episode 2

    It smelt of sulfur. The Great Maw¡¯Goro loomed ahead, bellowing dark smoke. The journeyers marched across the lava rock barefoot, so that they felt the spirit¡¯s fiery power beneath them as they walked.


    Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s yard was like a frozen ocean, with crests and troughs and coiling waves, made from hardened magma.


    Faydayo led the group through the canal cutting deeper into the lava yard. He was the tallest and strongest amongst the group, which no doubt played a part in his advancement to chieftain¡¯s heir, but he was also the most ambitious. He kept his hair short and his eyes were always narrowed in suspicion. This would be his first excursion as the mo¡¯huran leader, and he walked with determination.


    Behind him came Krissa, the shaman-to-be, and the second highest status in the party. The shaman was traditionally outranked in status only by the chieftain, but Faydayo would have kept Krissa next to him regardless of tradition. Her eyes were wide and bright brown. She wore her hair in a tangle of braids.


    And after Krissa came Minty, the healer¡¯s apprentice. Her hair was kept in tight buns, like the nubby horns of a baby goat. She had only been placed in third as a matter of custom since healers were also of top ranking status, but she and Faydayo interacted very little. Faydayo¡¯s domineering personality kept Minty¡¯s mousy self shied away.


    Next in the march came Zana, tattooed with leopard spots on her arms. She had taken the place as the lead hunter¡¯s pupil after Faydayo became chieftain¡¯s heir. And after her came Pykor, also a hunter, and an exceptional piper. They had both trained for years alongside Faydayo as fellow hunters, and were fiercely loyal to their buddy.


    Then came Kardan, Lion¡¯s formal apprentice. He was more lean than the other boys, but no less toned. And he had tawny brown hair that almost looked golden when it was caught in the light. Kardan and Faydayo had disliked each other since they were boys, which had only hardened as they turned to young men. More than once a competitive hoopball game became a childish brawl. If Faydayo could have put Kardan further back he would have; except the rear and the lowest status was reserved for Yuliko.


    She regretted all the circumstances that had led her to the lowest rank, but for the moment she was glad to be as far back from Faydayo as possible, for the shaman¡¯s act of handprinting Yuliko with red ocher instead of the black charcoal had visibly irked him. For some unknown reason, Eshika had chosen to mark Yuliko with the same color as the leader. They were supposed to walk in silence as they departed from the nomination ceremony, but even Yuliko in the back heard Faydayo asking Krissa what that had been about.


    But Krissa only shrugged. ¡°I see nothing special about her,¡± she had replied.


    There were obsidian cores all over the lava yard, but they were venturing close to the heart of the volcano, where the black glass was most imbued with Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s power. They needed strong cores to fashion their ritual blades. The knives made from these cores would be used as a part of the Pledge Rite, where they make their promise to Maw¡¯Goro to return with a bountiful tribute or not return at all.


    As they hiked through the rocky trench, an ibex leaped down into the canal in front of them. A big shaggy beast, white like seafoam. As tall as a person from hoof to back. And curved horns as long as a person¡¯s arm. The ibex kicked away some stones to reveal a patch of hidden pale blue grass, which it proceeded to munch on.


    Krissa declared it a good omen, then danced and chanted to embrace the spiritual energy. Her long braids were woven with beads of obsidian and amber, which rattled together as she swayed around.


    The blue grass was called Goro¡¯s ghostgrass, and it had many healing properties. Normally, such a find would be collected, however the ibex was sacred to the clan and they would not interrupt its grazing. So they crawled out of the canal and moved around the animal, then dropped back in afterwards.


    Yuliko pondered over how the goat knew exactly where to find the grass, and how the beasts so effortlessly traverse the rocky crags of the lava yard, perfectly suited for the land. They were truly Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s creatures. And they were perfectly suited to protect the land from intruders with their monstrous horns. Ibexes are very territorial, even amongst themselves. Catching the sight of two bucks locking horns in battle was considered a sign of coming change to the Black Glass People.


    All the lands beneath the shadow of the volcano belonged to Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s creatures, and Yuliko knew them well. The lava yards extended out from the volcano, with cavernous tunnels along the slope of the western side. And dense rainforest encircled the yard, covering long stretches of hills, deep valleys, and multiple branches of the fearsome Hungry River. Yuliko and the others had grown up beneath the rainforest¡¯s canopy, moving their camp each season to a new glade or a fresh dale, so they would not over-consume the bounties of the land. The Black Glass People lived in perfect balance with their land and with their spirit.


    With a nervousness that she dared not show, Yuliko wondered how they were going to fare outside of their home. She thought over all the tales of all the creatures and peoples to be found in the far lands. There were swamps with web-spinning alligators, and caves with bears twice the height of a man kin. There were tales of unicorns with golden woolly coats, numbering in the hundreds, roaming a magnificent open plain. And there were stories of tribes towards the Storming Mountains that had tamed the giant fluttering scalewings and could ride them through the air.


    The mo¡¯huran did not know which direction they would be heading until after the Pledge Rite, where the Eshika will announce their course. Tales from all the corners of the world flashed through her mind. To the west towards Windy Desert there lies a tribe of cannibals that sharpen their teeth into points. And to the south in the direction of the Salty Sea there are water witches who can transform into sea creatures, by changing skins the same way a hermit crab changes shells. And to the north towards the White Wasteland there was said to be a tribe who builds tall towers so they can try to capture the stars.


    Yuliko most especially recalled the tales of the hobs that had terrified her as a child. They were grotesque buggy creatures somewhere between a beast and a thinking species. They had a similar body shape to the other thinking species, standing upright with two arms and two legs, but their proportions contorted so they looked hunched over and scrunched up. They were small creatures, at least the grunt hobs were, smaller than even the squirrel people. They wore animal skins and they made crude tools and clubs, and some even say they have their own language, but the hobs will never talk or trade with another thinking species. They will only try to crack open their skulls. Hobs lurk in the dark, able to stalk with keen night eyes, and would ambush any prey with a brain bigger than a walnut. Hobs love brains. They prowl the far lands, searching for meaty heads to crack. They were said to sever the heads of large kills to be brought back for their hive queen.


    Of the thinking species, there were, of course, many more man kin tribes in the far lands, but there were others too. There were the flatheads, who stood half a head shorter than the man kin on average, and they had broad flat faces. If what was said of them were true, then the flatheads weren¡¯t so different from man kin, except they weren¡¯t as smart, for no species was as smart as man kin. They only spoke in grunts and they didn¡¯t keep any animals. And there were also the squirrel people. They looked mostly like a man kin, but half the size and with pointy-ears. They supposedly dwelt up in the trees and lived off of nuts.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Groups of traveling flatheads or squirrel people are known to cross through Glass People territory on the rare occasion. Though, they almost never cause trouble, and they sometimes even trade with the clans. Once when Yuliko was a young girl she had seen a band of flatheads pass through. She remembered a flathead woman wearing a seashell necklace and carrying a toddler with a head shaped like a melon. She had thought it was such an ugly baby, but cute too. The toddler played with its mother¡¯s shell necklace, then it noticed Yuliko and waved its chubby arms at her. The exhausted looking mother adjusted the toddler around to not look at the man kin, but the child crawled over its mother¡¯s shoulders to keep staring.


    Yuliko had been astonished by how similar the flatheads had been to her people. She could even read the emotions on their faces. The toddler had been curious, like her. She had wanted to follow the flatheads as they made their way through, but her father had forbidden that before she could even ask.


    The flatheads and the squirrel people were the only two thinking species to visit Glass People territory, but there were tales of others. Some were said to still be around in far land places, like the man-apes, who towered over man kin and could rip a person apart. And the squishers, who had webbed hands and feet and could breathe underwater. Her mother and chieftain father had famously ventured up the Hungry River on their Great Journey, where they earned a giant pearl as their tribute by helping a squisher village slay a river monster.


    But there were also the long lost thinking species that were said to have all died out. Like the scaled folk, who had scaly lizard skin, sharp teeth, and cold blood. They would spend hours lounging in the sunlight, absorbing the heat. At night if they could not get enough heat they would drink from the veins of warm blooded creatures. And there were also stories of the thunder people, the feathered flying folk that would sweep down from the sky, shrieking thundering war cries.


    And then, as Yuliko well remembered, there were the green men. The people with antlers like deer, with dappled short fur and hooved feet. When Yuliko had first seen her green man approaching from out of the trees, her first thought after realizing what it was had been that he was so human, more hominoid that bestial. Not as monstrous as some of the tales would have had her believe. As she stood there in the open, frozen solid, her next thought had been that she could read its face, just like with the flatheads. If she had any wits about her she would have gotten up immediately and ran. But the face didn¡¯t look hostile, rather the green man appeared sad, with woeful black eyes. But an instant later the green man had impaled her.


    Yuliko lifted her wrap and looked at the red handprint covering the scar on her waist. She had no idea why Eshika had given her the red mark, or why she had nominated her in the first place, but she was extremely thankful. Now she had a chance to show her worth to the clan and restore her status. It wouldn¡¯t be easy, especially not with Faydayo as the mo¡¯huran leader, but she had a chance.


    A part of  her was deeply afraid they might encounter the green man again. It had watched her bleeding out on the rocks after it stabbed her, one antler prong tipped in red. Its brow was furrowed over his doey black eyes, watching the hot red blood flow out of her. Why hadn¡¯t it finished her then? Instead it stole the totem from her arms, and reached down to touch her wound. It said something, and then disappeared. Another part of Yuliko hoped she would have a chance to face the green man again, and find out what happened to the Ibex totem, but she knew that was a futile wish.


    When they reached a shaded area beneath a large boulder, Faydayo stopped the party for a rest, about halfway to the base of the volcano. Yuliko leaned against the rock and flipped open her folding fan to wave at her face. It was definitely warmer this close to Maw¡¯Goro, she could feel it in the ground in the soles of her feet.


    Kardan leaned against the rock beside her, smiling. Kardan wore his hair in a tight bun, which accentuated his sharp features. ¡°I was worried for a moment back there,¡± he told her.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Yuliko said. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what really happened.¡± She looked down to her red handprint.


    Kardan placed his hand on her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re here, is what happened,¡± he said. ¡°And I am glad for it.¡± His hand lingered on her shoulder briefly, which he then let graze across her back when he let go.


    She felt the warmth of a blush rise in her cheeks as she fanned herself.


    ¡°Yes, Yuliko, we are all so glad you¡¯re here,¡± Faydayo said, sardonically. ¡°We have our hunters and healer, but our mo¡¯huran desperately needed a¡ªwait, what is it that you do again?¡± He mocked her for not having a master.


    Yuliko was not looking for a fight with her leader before they had even started their Great Journey. She lowered her head to Faydayo. ¡°I will do as the group requires and our leader commands.¡±


    He studied her for a moment. Yuliko lowered herself even further. She wanted him to understand his authority was not threatened by her.


    ¡°Good,¡± Faydayo said, and he nodded at her to rise. But when Yuliko did so, Faydayo¡¯s gaze hooked onto her red handprint. ¡°But let''s all agree now that when we do find our tribute for the Great Maw¡¯Goro we won¡¯t let Yuliko hold on to it. She¡¯s likely to lose it to another deer.¡±


    Faydayo chuckled heartily at his own joke. Krissa, Zana, and Pykor all laughed too. Kardan looked like he didn¡¯t find it funny at all.


    ¡°As you say,¡± Yuliko told the leader.


    Clearly enjoying himself, Faydayo added, ¡°And, Krissa, don¡¯t let her join for any blessing rituals. Yuliko will probably hurt herself in the process.¡± Faydayo and his chums laughed another round at her expense. ¡°Say Yuliko, why don¡¯t you tell us your story again. About your mysterious green man,¡± he said.


    More laughs. The others goaded her to retell the worst experience of her life.


    ¡°You all know my story,¡± Yuliko said.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to hear it again, I like dreamy tales,¡± Faydayo said.


    Dreamy tales were the fanciful stories everyone knew to be false. Like the singing squash patch, or the Basket Women who snatch up children in their wicker traps.


    Kardan took a step towards the leader. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to tell the story,¡± he said.


    ¡°That may be. But I told her to tell it,¡± Faydayo said, also taking a step forward.


    ¡°Why? Just to be a dungball?¡± Kardan asked.


    ¡°The only dungball here is you, speaking to your chief like that,¡± Faydayo replied.


    The two young men bucked up at each other, shuffling closer and closer, until they were nearly within range of each other¡¯s fist.


    Yuliko tugged at Kardan¡¯s arm. ¡°It''s fine. I¡¯ll tell it again,¡± she said.


    Kardan gave one last glare to Faydayo, then back to Yuliko, then he backed off.


    The jovial mood had evaporated out of Faydayo¡¯s chums. No one was laughing. They all stared at her.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Faydayo said.


    Yuliko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she started, ¡°As you all know, it was time for the migration¡ª¡±


    Suddenly, a groaning rumble sound rang over the lava yard, then the ground was shaking. Rocks jostled in place at their feet. All of them wobbled in a struggle to keep their balance. Yuliko tumbled forward towards Faydayo and he caught her.


    For a brief moment it seemed as if the boulder next to them were about to shift. They heard the rock crumbling around. But then, just as quickly as the tremor had started, it faded to a halt.


    Faydayo and Yuliko had held onto each other through the quaking. When the tremor had stopped, the two journeyers with the red handprints looked into each other¡¯s eyes briefly. Yuliko thought she saw gentleness in Faydayo¡¯s eye for just a second, then he shoved her away from him.


    Then suddenly, in a panic, Yuliko looked around for the green man. But the mo¡¯huran stood alone adrift the hard magma sea. She saw that both Kardan and Krissa had observed that moment with Faydayo.


    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Kardan asked the group, and they replied in the affirmative.


    ¡°We should move,¡± Faydayo said.


    ¡°That was a bad omen,¡± Krissa said, touching the palm of her hand down to the warm lava rock.

 Episode 3

    The band of young Ibex men and women reached the base of Maw¡¯Goro. If they were to travel any closer they would be scaling the volcano. The sulfur smell was thicker here, the temperature hotter, and in the distance they could spot a slow moving trail of Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s burning blood. Krissa declared that the magical energy here was more than adequate for their ritual blades, and Faydayo ordered everyone to stay close as they searched for their obsidian cores.


    Selecting the right obsidian core for one¡¯s ritual blade was an important process. It must be a glass rock the journeyer connects with. The black glass knives they are to make will be their touchstone to Maw¡¯Goro, for out in the far lands they will lack his protection and influence. In the far lands other great spirits reign supreme. As long as a journeyer carries their ritual blade though, they can not be mastered by another spirit.


    Faydayo and Krissa walked off to search together. Yuliko saw Faydayo shaking his head, muttering something in frustration as they turned around a bend. Krissa put her hand on his backside as he spoke. Yuliko figured Faydayo was venting to her. Their first venture as a Mo¡¯Huran was supposed to be easy, for they were still at the very center of Black Glass territory, but Faydayo¡¯s leadership was already off to a volatile start; the tremor from earlier was certainly no good sign, and just before that he had nearly gotten into a fight with Kardan, and then there was the ambiguous red handprint Eshika had given Yuliko. And if Faydayo¡¯s behavior from the resting site was an indicator, he would not handle further grievances any more gracefully.


    Yuliko hoped Kardan might wish to join her in the search for their cores, but he was already off examining a pile of potential rocks. He had been the obsidian master¡¯s apprentice for over two years now, and not just any obsidian master, but he had learned from Lion, the most talented knapper across all the clans. Kardan was probably better equipped than Krissa to tell how powerful the obsidian around here was, for the obsidian masters don¡¯t merely shape the rocks by knapping and flaking, but they harnessessed Mow¡¯Goro¡¯s power to craft the obsidian. They worked the material with their minds before the chipping had even begun.


    Yuliko watched Kardan as he knelt next to an obsidian block with his head cocked, then he picked up the stone and held it up to his ear, as if he could listen inside like a conch shell. Yuliko had also trained with Lion, but she did not have the insight into the black glass that Kardan had developed. Her few months of instruction from the great obsidian master had been focused on knapping with tools, but Kardan was nearly advanced enough to be practicing vibrational knapping, where the knapper channels the magic of Maw¡¯Goro to shatter the obsidian into the desired shape. Kardan set down the stone he had been listening to, then picked up another one and sniffed it.


    Yuliko instead went searching for her core with Minty. The healer¡¯s apprentice was probably the shyest person in the whole clan. She was a small wispy girl who never went anywhere without her toadskin medicine bag.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy Eshika nominated you,¡± Minty told Yuliko as they strolled over to a little pit filled with potential cores. ¡°I¡¯m already scared enough. I¡¯d be terrified if you weren¡¯t coming on the Great Journey.¡±


    ¡°You would do just fine either way,¡± Yuliko said, squeezing Minty¡¯s hand briefly. ¡°But I am happy too, even if Faydayo is the mo¡¯huran leader.¡±


    And she meant that. She could tolerate being the lowest status in the mo¡¯huran and all of Faydayo¡¯s bullying if it meant she could bestow Maw¡¯Goro their tribute and not be cast as a thrall. She would talk to Kardan soon to make it clear she wanted no more trouble with Faydayo on her behalf.


    They hopped down into the pit and picked through a couple cores, to reveal a patch of pale blue grass.


    ¡°Goro¡¯s ghostgrass! How lucky!¡± Minty said excitedly, moving aside the nearby rocks to expose the whole patch, which turned out to be rather large, a rare find. Ghostgrass had potent medicinal properties, particularly for easing cramps and pains. She quickly pulled out a digging stick and began to unearth the plants, trying to keep the roots intact as much as possible.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    While Minty dug, Yuliko picked up two of the obsidian cores that had covered the hidden bounty. She held them up to her eye level, weighing them, feeling the comfort of their shapes in her palms.


    ¡°These glass cores gave us a gift, they must have much magic,¡± Yuliko said. ¡°I think they shall make good ritual blades, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they must have much magic,¡± Minty agreed, only glancing at the cores. She wasn¡¯t really a knapper. Her interests lay mostly with herbs and their various uses. Minty shook off the loose soil and wrapped the ghostgrass in a cloth before storing it in her medicine bag.


    Yuliko, however, was a knapper. She kept looking at the cores, thinking over the things Lion had taught her about choosing one''s starting block. The tool already exists in the glass. When you hold the glass, the tool should already be forming in your mind. Each flake gets closer to the shape that was already there. Yuliko rolled the two cores around in her hands, feeling all their edges. After a few minutes she handed Minty the egg-shaped core, and kept the heart-shaped core for herself.


    ¡°You can make a good short straight blade with that one. But strike it from the top of the curves, not the sides, or else it will be too brittle,¡± Yuliko told her friend. But with her heart-shaped core Yuliko planned on a more complicated blade, with a longer shaft with a slight curve, and she would add fluting to the shaft so it would fit in a handle better.


    The girls packed away their chosen obsidian cores. But before they were to rejoin the rest of the Mo¡¯Huran, Yuliko wanted to pick an extra piece of glass. Having an additional core to make replacement tools on the Great Journey would be helpful. The extra weight will be burdensome, Yuliko knew, but it could save them from a tight situation. For this piece she wanted something rectangular that could be a general purpose block.


    While she searched through the rocks, Minty fiddled with the strap of her toadskin bag a bit nervously, then said, ¡°Yuliko, I wish it was you that were leading our Mo¡¯Huran. I fear Faydayo may overreach and attempt to acquire a tribute that is too dangerous for us.¡±


    Yuliko frowned. She was not the leader. She lost her chance at that. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say such things,¡± she told Minty. ¡°We must trust in Faydayo to lead us to success.¡±


    Her friend hadn¡¯t guessed that Yuliko was probably more desperate for a great tribute than even Faydayo.


    ¡°He is a brute, especially to you,¡± Minty said.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Yuliko replied, grabbing an appropriate hunk of glass as her extra piece. ¡°He is our leader. Maybe he will be better if we give him a chance.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s given you the hardest time of all since your incident. Why are you speaking up for him?¡± Minty asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yuliko said, truthfully. Then she touched her scar and the shaman¡¯s mark over it. ¡°Maybe Eshika seconded my nomination because I¡¯m supposed to help Faydayo.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re the last person he wants help from,¡± Minty said.


    Yuliko crossed her arms. ¡°Well, he¡¯s going to get it whether he likes it or not.¡±


    A high pitched honking caw, like that of a bird-of-paradise, sounded out from a few mounds over the lava yard. A signal that there was danger and to regroup. The two girls climbed out of the rock pit and rushed over the boulder steps to meet the others. They found them at the top of an outcropping gathered together at the edge. They were all huddled around something and they all looked upset.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Yuliko asked Kardan as she and Minty approached.


    He simply stepped aside and pointed at the object displayed on the ledge. A dead ibex lay spread out on a jutting elevated portion of the outcropping. Its white fur stained red. It lay on its backside with its belly cut in a vertical slash, gored, from rib cage to groin. Bloody intestines spilled out onto the rock. The poor goat''s horns had been severed as well, and brutally too, the scalp was scraped and bloodied. It may have been done while it was alive.


    Their clan, of course, would harvest what they required from the revered ibex, but always with respect. This here was butchery. A mockery. This was an insult.


    Faydayo¡¯s face had turned red. His fists clenched tight.


    Krissa knelt beside the slaughtered ibex and waved her hands over the beast as she chanted a prayer for the animal¡¯s journey into the Other World. She whipped her head around frenetically, rattling the beads in her hair.


    Yuliko gripped her spear tight. Her hands were not sweaty. She was ready to hunt.

 Episode 4

    The Ibex mo¡¯huran stared at the mutilated goat from which the clan takes their name and pride. Yuliko could see the fury raging in Faydayo, but unexpectedly, also in Kardan. For once, they were of shared minds and wanted to immediately start a sweep of the area. Krissa kept saying this was another bad omen from the spirits.


    Yuliko was more shocked than anything else. She couldn¡¯t imagine why someone would do this. And here so close to the heart of Maw¡¯Goro. It was blasphemous. What was its purpose?


    ¡°We will find these intruders and cut their bellies open too,¡± Faydayo said, then he began organizing the party into two groups to start the sweep.


    ¡°I must study this omen,¡± Krissa said.


    ¡°Enough about omens!¡± Faydayo yelled at her. ¡°This was done by intruders, not the spirits. Let''s move out now.¡±


    ¡°This means something,¡± Krisssa told him, drifting her arm dramatically over at the butchered white ibex. Red smeared across its snowy coat.


    Faydayo narrowed his eyes at her. ¡°Fine. Stay with the dead.¡± Then he ordered everyone else to form up in their search groups.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t have a weapon,¡± Minty whined. ¡°I can¡¯t fight intruders.¡±


    Faydayo shoved his spear into Minty¡¯s hand, then he unsheathed his war club from his belt.


    Minty looked even more uncomfortable now that she was armed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t prepared for this,¡± she said.


    ¡°We¡¯re going,¡± Faydayo said. ¡°If you¡¯re too cowardly to follow, then you stay with the corpse too.¡±


    Then Yuliko remembered something her chieftain father had taught her when she was still his heir apprentice. Enemies are always prodding for weaknesses. They will wait until you are vulnerable and then they shall strike, like a wild animal out of a bush. For there are many tribes that would like to steal Glass People land and resources, and even enslave their people. It was a leader¡¯s job to be mindful of their vulnerabilities. ¡°Faydayo, we shouldn¡¯t act rashly. This was meant to upset us.¡±


    Faydayo snorted at her. ¡°Are you afraid too, Yuliko? Scared you might get stabbed again?¡±


    She envisioned the green man¡¯s black eyes staring down at her, crackling in her mind like lightning. ¡°Yes,¡± Yuliko admitted. She was always scared of getting stabbed again. ¡°And you should be too. We were meant to find this. They want us rattled.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let whoever did this get away,¡± Kardan said.


    ¡°Better that than one of us getting hurt,¡± Yuliko said. ¡°We should all stay together.¡±


    ¡°Enough talking!¡± Faydayo cried ¡°We¡¯re going to catch the scumrats that did this, and we¡¯re going now.¡±


    Krissa flippantly got in formation. Minty too, nervously ringing the spear in her hands. Faydayo would lead the two of them and Pykor around the westward bend. And Zana would lead Yuliko and Kardan eastward. They trekked back down the cliff into the open flat area.


    But before either group had gotten very far, a loud ¡°WHOOP!¡± sound echoed across the yard. That was a tribal call, meant as a provocation. ¡°WHOOP! WHOOP!¡± Their antagonizers emerged from behind the rocks going up the side of the volcano, about a hundred feet away. It was another group of young people, Glass People, they had handprint markings on their bodies as well. There were eight of them. They jumped up on the rocks, still shouting, ¡°WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!¡± The loudest and closest one, a boy with a mohawk haircut, jeered at them, ¡°Hey Ibex! Looks like you lost your horn!¡±


    They were referencing the totem stolen by Yuliko¡¯s green man. It was a beautifully carved ibex horn, from the head of a monster goat, engraved over generations by Ibex Clan craftsmen with images from the Great Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s birth story, banded with impeccably polished rings of obsidian and red jasper. Now it was likely gone forever.


    ¡°WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP!¡±


    Most of the whoopers had black handprints on them, though the mohawk boy had a red one over his belly. Dangling around his neck hung a torc made with two white tusks. The tips of the tusks were painted blue and jangled wildly as he danced obnoxiously on his rock.


    ¡°Razor Boars,¡± Faydayo and Kardan grunted at the same time.


    The mutilation had not been an intruder or a sign from a spirit, but just a cruel jape by their rival clan. This was more than a joke though, this was a desecration of Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s sacred land and creatures. Only brutes could find such a thing funny. And only fools would risk the wrath of the great spirit.


    The Razor Boar Clan was of the highest status, and this was their mo¡¯huran. Yuliko realized that the boy must be Sarkola, the son of the high chieftain, Vogon. She had seen Sarkola at the last tribe gathering. He had won many games of wrestling and hoopball, but he had also been a sore loser when his clan had lost the team hoopball championship to the Ibex Clan. Winning the championship had helped secure the Ibex top status back then, but that was before Yuliko¡¯s incident.


    ¡°Your clan is totem-less. How could you possibly be worthy in the eyes of Maw¡¯Goro?¡± Sarkola yelled. ¡°You should offer yourselves as tribute. Throw yourselves headlong into Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s heart and your clan may be cleansed of some of its shame.¡±


    ¡°You bring shame!¡± Faydayo shouted pointing towards the de-horned ibex. ¡°You are sick dungballs! You¡¯ll walk the Other World with weights on your limbs and ants on your face!¡±


    Sarkola signaled to the whooping jokers and they pulled out their slings. He loaded a blue painted ball into the sling pouch. ¡°In the Other World your ancestors are all lost without their totem! You bring shame to all the People of the Black Glass!¡±


    Then they began walloping the Ibex mo¡¯huran with bullets. Blue dots rained down from their position. They were downhill from the Razor Boars and spread out in the open, easy to assail with the slings. Faydayo was hit with a barrage. Pykor yelled out. Then, Kardan was walloped too. And soon all the rest of them yelped in pain as they sprinted for cover.


    ¡°WHOOP! WHOOP!¡± the Boars cried.


    Yuliko was pelted in the shoulder, it almost knocked her down, but she managed to stumble to a hiding spot. Behind her Krissa yelled the loudest of all of them, she had been knocked down, and was rolling in pain. Faydayo was dashing back out to get her, taking more hits.


    Yuliko took a moment to examine her own injury. A large red welt was forming on top of her shoulder. It hurt a great deal, but honestly, her shoulder blade should be broken from how hard she had been hit. Slings at this range were deadly weapons. Animals as big as hyenas can be taken down with a single crack to the skull with a stone. Yuliko peered around from her hiding spot and saw a stray bullet bouncing across the rocks. The Razor Boars were attacking with rubber bullets, pressed balls of sap from the rubber tree and painted blue.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Kardan and Zana took cover alongside Yuliko. They also had welts. Faydayo was now carrying Krissa to the rocks where the rest of the Ibex had taken cover. Krissa¡¯s face had been marked with a great big welt right in the center of her forehead.


    With all of the Ibexes having taken cover, the whooping and the walloping came to a halt.


    Faydayo laid down Krissa, then picked up one of the stray rubber bullets scattering the lava yard. He threw it on the ground angrily and the blue ball danced over the black rocktop erratically.


    ¡°Alright, Sarkola, enough!¡± Faydayo shouted. ¡°You do all this as a prank? You think you¡¯re funny?¡±


    Sarkola started making his way down from their rocks, smiling widely, very pleased with himself. ¡°It may be funny, but it¡¯s no prank. It¡¯s a warning.¡±


    Sarkola¡¯s goons followed behind him, all carrying their war clubs out. The Boar mo¡¯huran poured into the flat grounds, rallied around their leader. Unlike the Ibexes, they wore moccasins on their feet.


    Faydayo marched right up to Sarkola with his own war club in hand. ¡°A warning about what?¡± he asked.


    ¡°To stay in your place, Ibex,¡± Sarkola answered. ¡°The Razor Boars finally hold the highest status amongst the clans, our rightful place. This is to warn your mo¡¯huran not to do anything foolish in the far lands. You can¡¯t hope to reclaim your clan¡¯s status with any tribute, so don¡¯t go after something crazy.¡±


    Faydayo inched closer to the Boar leader. ¡°I¡¯ll lead my mo¡¯huran to whatever tribute Maw¡¯Goro deserves,¡± he said.


    Zana and Pykor stood behind Faydayo, also wielding the war clubs. Kardan joined as well, but he was only armed with a throwing stick. And Yuliko followed too, she carried no weapon.


    Sarkola nodded to his colleagues and they tossed two stained red ibex horns at the feet of Faydayo. The symbol for ¡®Thrall,¡¯ a rope, had crudely been etched into one horn, and the skull symbol for ¡®Death¡¯ had been etched into the other.


    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Faydayo asked.


    ¡°Those are your choices,¡± Sarkola said. ¡°When we return from our Great Journeys we shall be active members of our clans. My father is high chieftain, which means I shall be high chieftain someday. I want to establish the terms between our clans now. Either you can submit to Razor Boar supremacy, or your clan can die.¡±


    His father, High Chieftain Vogon, ran his clan very differently than Chieftain Domylo. Vogon favored returning to the same few campsites as they migrated, planting seasonal crops in cleared areas of land. It produced more food, and the Razor Boars were the biggest clan, requiring more food. However, the practice of removing trees for planting was very controversial amongst the clans. Now that Vogon was the high chieftain he was pressuring the other clans to follow his way.


    Faydayo grunted and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re a foolish boy. Black Glass People don¡¯t threaten each other so readily. And you''re even more foolish if you think the Boars could defeat the Ibexes. You can¡¯t even win at hoopball.¡±


    Sarkola laughed ¡°You¡¯re the fool. You led your mo¡¯huran right where I wanted.¡±


    ¡°Is this what you wanted?¡± Faydayo said, raising his club to strike.


    Everyone gathered on the flats, tense, ready for action, but Yuliko rushed forward. ¡°Stop! Wait! Don¡¯t fight!¡±


    The Ibex leader turned to look at her, hot in the face, still poised to attack.


    ¡°Faydayo was right that Glass People don¡¯t threaten each other like this,¡± Yuliko said. ¡°We are civilized people. Status is decided at the gatherings, we all know that.¡±


    Sarkola looked her over, and then broke out into laughter once more, ¡°Whoop! Whoop! What do we have here? The very girl we have to thank for raising our status. What was your name again, Totem-Loser?¡±


    ¡°Yuliko,¡± she said.


    ¡°Ah, yes, Yuliko. The one who was gored by an elk or something like that?¡± Sarkola said.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± she answered.


    Yuliko noticed that not all of the Boar¡¯s seemed eager to fight. Half of them were hanging in the back and didn¡¯t seem to be having the fun that Sarkola was. One of them, a girl with a bowl cut, who carried a medicine bag, was looking at Krissa¡¯s head injury with concern.


    And Sarkola noticed that Yuliko also had a red handprint, which gave him another wry smile. ¡°What¡¯s this? Were you tasked to be Faydayo¡¯s babysitter? Too inexperienced, is that right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need a babysitter,¡± Faydayo yelled, getting up in Sarkola¡¯s face.


    ¡°My red means nothing,¡± Yuliko said, then she lowered her head. ¡°Faydayo is our mo¡¯huran leader and he is worthy.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± Sarkola said. He puffed up at Faydayo before moving past him to stand in front of Yuliko. ¡°What about you, huh, girl? Are you worthy? If you were in my clan you wouldn¡¯t even be allowed to Journey. I would have made you my thrall.¡±


    ¡°I guess it''s a good thing for me that I¡¯m not in your clan,¡± she said.


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Sarkola said, grazing his hand down her arm. He had a prominent chin and cheekbones. His eyes were shallow and mischievous. ¡°You might like being my thrall.¡±


    Yuliko swatted away his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s gonna make you a thrall once he¡¯s in charge,¡± Sarkola said, nodding at Faydayo. ¡°Except he won¡¯t be nice to you like I would. I¡¯d show you how thankful I am for raising my clan up, Yuliko.¡± He said her name with emphasis, to show he remembered.


    Yuliko was struck by the truth of those words. It was no secret Faydayo resented her. The whole clan resented her. They¡¯d all be happy to make her a thrall. It was only her father¡¯s status as chieftain that had protected her from such a fate. Maybe she would be better off in another clan.


    ¡°She¡¯s an Ibex,¡± Faydayo said. ¡°And she¡¯s done talking to you.¡± Then he tapped her arm. ¡°Stand back, Yuliko.¡±


    Yuliko lowered her head again to Faydayo as she stepped backward. ¡°Can we please just agree to put away our weapons. We are all Black Glass People.¡± She made a show of setting down her own spear.


    ¡°I said you were done talking, Yuliko,¡± Faydayo said tersely.


    She lowered her head further.


    Faydayo stared at Sarkola harshly. Yuliko thought she could feel furious heat radiating off of Faydayo the same way she felt the heat of Maw''Goro on the soles of her feet.


    ¡°We came out here to collect obsidian cores. We have done that,¡± he said, and then he sheathed his war club back into his belt. ¡°You¡¯ve said what you had to say. We should both go our separate ways now.¡±


    The amount of restraint shown by Faydayo just now surprised Yuliko. And relieved her. A fight with another clan before their Great Journeys would be a bad omen if there ever was one. She didn¡¯t need to be a shaman to know that. And thankfully, Faydayo realized it too.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve said what I had to say,¡± Sarkola replied. ¡°But you haven¡¯t made your choice.¡± He pointed to the two ibex horns. Thrall or Death.


    Faydayo looked back at his mo¡¯huran, pelted with welt marks, all visibly afraid and angry. Minty had begun treating the especially bad welt on Krissa with a healing clay. She may have a concussion. The fighters were ready for action. Kardan especially, who had moved next to Yuliko. They all knew the smart choice. This was a child¡¯s game, with no bearing on the real standing of the clan. And besides, the Ibexes were already the lowest ranking clan. But picking up the thrall horn would make him look weak. It would be shameful. Both the Thrall and Death choices were meant to make him look weak and shamed. But one choice led to violence.


    Her eyes hooked into Faydayo¡¯s as looked over his crew. She pleaded with her gaze for him to put aside his pride, just for this instance. She thought she caught recognition in his golden-brown eyes.


    Faydayo turned back to Sarkola. ¡°I¡¯ll answer you.¡± And he knelt between the two red painted horns. He raised both his hands, letting them hover ambiguous for a moment. Then, slowly reached down and grabbed the thrall horn.


    Yuliko felt the tension in her body release. Most everyone else appeared relieved as well. The air felt palpably lighter. Kardan though, shook his head disagreeably.


    Still knelt down, Faydayo said. ¡°The Ibex swear service to the high chieftain. Not you.¡±


    Sarkola scoffed. ¡°Fine. Very good. I shall be the high chieftain someday though, and I¡¯ll remember this vow. Rise and our mo¡¯hurans may both be on our way.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s just one thing,¡± Faydayo said, clutching the ibex horn. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have hurt the goat.¡± Faydayo swung the curved horn like a hook club at Sarkola¡¯s ankles, tripping him. Then Faydayo sprung and pinned Sarkola to the ground.


    Then the rest of Ibexes and Razor Boars attacked.

 Episode 5

    Suddenly war clubs were clashing across the lava top. Pykor, Zana, and Kardan each engaged a Razor Boar fighter. Faydayo had Sarkola pinned to the ground, forcing his mohawk to the rock floor. Krissa watched on in a daze, her forehead now smeared with gray clay.


    ¡°Everyone, stop fighting!¡± Yuliko yelled.


    Minty and the Razor Boar healer also shouted for a break in the combat, but their yells went unanswered. The Ibex and the Boars swiped at each other and parried blows. The two groups were more or less equally matched.


    Zana dashed and dodged, as leopard-like as her tattoos, artfully moving around the burly young man she dueled. So another Boar jumped in on her, putting her on the defensive. They were backing her into a rock wall as she fended off their blows.


    Kardan¡¯s opponent, a girl with her hair trimmed short, managed to whack his throwing stick out of his hands, so Kardan had lunged upon her war club, and now they wrestled over the weapon, kicking and punching.


    Faydayo dug his knee into Sarkola. ¡°Tell your people to back off!¡±


    ¡°Go roll in dung, Ibex!¡± Sarkola answered.


    Faydayo clapped the side of the Boar leader¡¯s with his fist. ¡°Tell them!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll piss where you sleep!¡± Sarkola yelled.


    Then he grabbed a nearby rock and struck Faydayo in his crown, knocking him off top of him. Sarkola tried to reverse the table and pin Faydayo, but the two became locked in a wrestling match on the ground.


    Yuliko watched the scene unfold. It was a disgraceful display between two Black Glass clans. They were one people, crafted from the molten life force within the great volcano, meant to dwell on these lands together, peacefully. They all shared Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s hot blood, it was not right for them to fight each other.


    ¡°Stop! Stop it! Are all of you crazy!¡± she yelled.


    But she got no response. The fight continued. Yuliko looked up the mountain, where in the distance trails of lava flowed. She was sure Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s blood had not run so heavy when they first got to the base of the volcano. Yuliko got a bad feeling. Like this was only a prelude to something more dangerous. Maybe Krissa had been right, the mutilated ibex might mean something important.


    The brawl was not progressing in the Ibex Clan¡¯s favor. Zana had been cornered against the rock wall by the two Boars. And Pykor was also losing ground to his fast whipping opponent, who swung their club so fast Pykor was always being pushed back. The girl with the short hair wrestling with Kardan headbutted him, and he tumbled backward to the ground. She smashed the club down hard at Kardan, but he crawled backward, avoiding the blows.


    ¡°Oh, Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s ashes!¡± Yuliko said to herself upon seeing Kardan in danger. She dashed forward and grabbed the red painted ibex horn with the ¡®death¡¯ symbol. Before the Boar could bring her club down on Kardan, Yuliko swung the horn into the woman''s gut, knocking the wind out of her. Then Yuliko kicked the short-haired woman over.


    Yuliko ran over to help Kardan up.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said as he took her hand.


    Then she saw that Zana was being overwhelmed by the two Boars cornering her. Yuliko pointed and Kardan nodded. He ran and struck one of them in the back, giving Zana the chance to break out and take control of the battle.


    Yuliko almost followed after them, but something on the horizon caught her attention. It had just been an instant, but she thought she saw a figure in the distance.


    Closeby, Faydayo still lay entangled with Sarkola, each trying to force the other¡¯s limbs to the breaking point, so they might submit. The two rolled across the ground, Faydayo managed to get on top, but then Sarkola had him twisted by the wrist.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°You tell your people to back off,¡± Sarkola said.


    ¡°Go lick a pig pen!¡± Faydayo replied.


    Sarkola swiftly jerked on Faydayo¡¯s twisted wrist, causing him to scream.


    That jolted Yuliko out of her scan of the horizon, and she ran over to the two embattled mo¡¯huran leaders. She hovered the end of the death horn over Sarkola¡¯s face. ¡°Let him go.¡±


    ¡°I got this,¡± Faydayo said, in pain.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m just helping,¡± Yuliko told Faydayo, then she faced back to the Razor Boar leader. ¡°I said let him go.¡±


    ¡°No. Faydayo the big boy doesn¡¯t want your help, Totem-Loser,¡± Sarkola said.


    ¡°I can handle this, Yuliko,¡± Faydayo said, gritting his teeth.


    ¡°Seriously, we shouldn¡¯t be doing this,¡± Yuliko said. ¡°I saw something out in the yard.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m going to fall for a trick like that?¡± Sarkola said, struggling to maintain his hold on his opponent¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°No trick,¡± Yuliko told him.


    Sarkola¡¯s eyes darted to the symbol etched into the ibex horn. ¡°Ah, I see you choose death.¡±


    His eyes flicked back up to Yuliko¡¯s. She thought she saw something darker than power-hunger in those eyes. Like he had wanted them to choose death all along.


    But in the split second he shared his dark gaze with Yuliko, Faydayo had broken free of his hold. In an instant, Faydayo slipped his arms beneath Sarkola and trapped him in a headlock.


    He took a moment to give Yuliko an unwelcome glare, before shouting at his captive, ¡°Call off your people!¡±


    ¡°Goat lover!¡± Sarkola yelled back.


    ¡°Faydayo, I really did see something out there,¡± Yuliko said.


    ¡°Not now,¡± Faydayo grunted.


    Yuliko scanned back out over the horizon. Just more mounds and coils of dried magma. But then she noticed Minty was staring out over the horizon too. Yuliko looked back down at the boys, still squirming. If they wanted to keep at each other, then so be it, she thought. And then she left them to their wrestling match and rushed over to Minty and Krissa.


    ¡°Did you see something out there?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I thought I saw movement,¡± Minty answered.


    ¡°Dead things move in the far lands,¡± Krissa said. That was another myth about the far lands. It is said that those that die there don¡¯t go to be reborn in Maw¡¯Goro¡¯s Sacred Fire like the Black Glass People do. Instead they are cursed to dwell in the Earthly Realm as corpses and ghouls.


    ¡°She¡¯s hurt,¡± Minty said.


    The welt on her forehead was large and the redness showed through the gray clay. And her eyes had a glaze to them.


    The fight showed no signs of ending. Faydayo still held Sarkola and they were yelling profanities at each other. The quick-handed duelist had pushed Pykor along the crest of a coil ridge. Kardan and Zana were now in a two against three battle since the short haired girl Boar had jumped back into the fight. The other Boars that were not fighting also appeared to be gazing out at the same point in the horizon.


    It was only a matter of time before someone got really hurt, and more than that, Yuliko was certain something was out there observing them now. She needed this fight to end, or maybe they were all going to get hurt.


    Yuliko looked at the red ibex horn in her hand. It had been crudely sawed off at the base, leaving an approximately fist sized hole at the end. The other end had been untouched, coming to a point.


    ¡°Minty, do you have a saw in your bag?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± the healer girl said. She dug through her medicine bag and pulled out a finely crafted saw-toothed blade made of razor sharp obsidian. This piece had been fashioned by Lion specifically for the clan¡¯s healers. The knapping was so delicately done one could hardly see the flaking edges. It had been made for dire medical situations, where a limb must be removed. This blade could saw right through the bone. Pieces like this can only be crafted by an obsidian master using vibrational knapping.


    ¡°Keep looking out,¡± Yuliko told Minty, then she used the serrated tool to saw off the tip of the ibex horn, making it open on both ends. Thanks to the high quality saw, it did not take her long to convert her impromptu weapon into a blowing horn.


    She looked back out at the fight. Somehow Sarkola had broken free and he was laying punches on Faydayo. Kardan and Zana were facing constant blows from the Boars. Pykor had been tripped by the quick Boar and he rolled down the lava coil.


    Yuliko raised the horn to her lips and blew. A low resonate sound bellowed across the yard. ¡°BWAAAAAAAH.¡± The horn was quite large and required all Yuliko¡¯s breath to sustain the wailing sound. The wail had a warbly quality to it, like something dying. ¡°BWAAAAAAAH!¡±


    The fighters all stopped mid-strike, and turned to look at the source of the noise. Yuliko blew until she had no more breath. ¡°BWAAAaaa. . .¡± Then she lowered the death horn and let the wide end drop to the ground. She took a big gulp of air and then yelled out, ¡°All of you stop fighting! There is something out there.¡±